Mixed Blessings Remake
by kitty-kat12
Summary: Max and Alec's lives are changed forever by the things that they do and the consequences of those actions along with the ppl and circumstances that stand in their way
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER: DA DOESN'T BELONG TO ME. YOU KNOW THE DRILL.  
  
A/N: THIS IS A REMAKE OF MY FIRST FANFICTION AND DA FIC EVER. HOPE YOU LIKE IT.  
  
ENJOY.  
  
~*~  
  
"Don't touch me." Max whispered hoarsely as she faced the wall. Her arms were crossed in front of her as if to shield himself from something.  
  
"Max-" Alec tried to say something but she cut him off instantly.  
  
"Don't. Just. Don't." Max said tensely. She didn't want to look at him and see the hurt in his face. It was too much, too much to know that he was hurting because of her.  
  
"Okay." He said dejectedly. "I'll talk to you when you're ready." He sighed.  
  
"I need to be alone." She told him. She wanted him to make a protest, to insist that they needed to talk even if she wasn't ready but Max knew that she also truly needed to be alone, to find some calm within herself and think clearly.  
  
Sighing, Alec grabbed his jacket and walked away.  
  
Max retreated to the couch once Alec was out of earshot and with a scowl on her face, she tried to make sense of what was happening to them.  
  
We're friends, she told herself. Friends with benefits.  
  
For over a month, Max and Alec had been sleeping together. It wasn't because of heat because if it was, Max would have used that as an excuse to justify her actions and stop what was happening between them already.  
  
No, it was pure loneliness and sexual frustration that made her sleep with him every week now.  
  
OC found her that way. Sitting on the couch, scowling at nothing in particular.  
  
"What's the matter, boo?" OC asked.  
  
"I'm hurting him." Max whispered, her frown slightly softening as she looked over at her friend.  
  
"Why? Because you've been sleeping with him for a month now and every morning, you make him leave or is it because you won't admit that you feel something for him? That this tryst isn't 'just sex'?" Cindy asked as she crossed the room to make herself a cup of coffee.  
  
"I don't feel anything for him." Max said stubbornly.  
  
Cindy scoffed indignantly. "Whatever. But Alec's tough. He'll be fine.  
  
"Why do I feel guilty? Alec knows that there aren't any feelings involved in this. I made sure of that." Even when she said, Max couldn't fully convince herself to believe her words. "What suddenly changed?"  
  
"You're asking the wrong person, Max. But you should figure this bitch out before it's too late." Cindy replied as she took a sip of her steaming hot coffee.  
  
"I don't want to figure it out."  
  
"Right then. That's up to you." OC replied as she sat back next to her best friend.  
  
"That's not really helping. Where are the words of wisdom? Shouldn't you be telling me that it's wrong to cheat on Logan?" Max asked, half jokingly.  
  
OC shrugged. "All I got for you is the truth and my own opinion. No words of wisdom, no fancy smanshy quotes from some old dude who's already dead. And this isn't about Logan." Cindy replied truthfully. "Look, you and Alec are friends. Good friends. If there's anything out of this that you would want to save, it's that. In the end, all you've got is friendship, if nothing else. Talk to him. Get things out in the open. You really can't lose anything by just talking."  
  
Max didn't seem to think so. There was a lot to lose from 'just talking'. "He tried to talk to me but I pushed him away. Now he thinks I'm disgusted with him and that I hate him." She sighed heavily.  
  
"Are you?" OC asked.  
  
Max looked startled. "Of course not. I mean, Alec gets on my nerves and can be such a jerk but I don't hate him."  
  
OC nodded. "I thought so. Well, tell him that tomorrow. Tonight, you get some rest. Everything will be fine." OC said. "Hey, you want some ice cream? We have some left in the fridge in case you want to sulk?" She teased.  
  
Max smiled slightly. "No, thanks. I'm good. Night OC." She said as she stood up and walked over to her room.  
  
"Night, Boo." OC smiled as she too walked to her room. She hoped she was right. That everything would work out fine. She knew that she didn't want the two most important people in her life hurt like this.  
  
By each other.  
  
She knew that Max and Alec had a way sabotaging their relationships with each other and other people.  
  
Max was using Logan as the excuse not to get attached to anyone, Alec especially.  
  
And Alec was using sex to get just about anything he wanted from anyone which made him seem like that was all he cared about.  
  
Cindy knew better.  
  
Sometimes, I feel like their shrink, she thought amusedly as she laid down to sleep.  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: WELL THERE YOU GO. IT'S BASICALLY THE SAME AS THE ORIGINAL. I JUST CHANGED A FEW WORDS, ADDED A FEW LINES. I THOUGHT THAT THIS CHAPTER WAS PRETTY SHORT BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO ENTIRELY REWRITE THE STORY.  
  
ANYWAY, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. 


	2. Out In The Open

A/N: THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS.  
  
HERE'S CHAPTER TWO. I HAVE THIS WHOLE STORY PLANNED ALREADY BUT IM WILLING TO LISTEN TO SUGGESTIONS AND MAKE SOME CHANGES ALONG THE WAY.  
  
ENJOY.  
  
~*~  
  
Max scanned Jam Pony as she entered the building. Alec was over at his locker, half hidden in the crowd of mingling workers.  
  
Heaving a sigh, she walked over to him.  
  
She knew that Alec knew she was there but he chose not to look up and continue digging into his backpack.  
  
"Alec."  
  
"Max." He said; his voice just as tense as hers.  
  
"Where have you been?" She asked as she leaned one shoulder on the lockers.  
  
He finally looked up from what he was doing and gave her an icy what's-it- to-you-glare. "Around." He replied as he slung his bag over one shoulder and began to walk away.  
  
"For a whole week?" She asked as she kept in pace with him.  
  
"Yeah. A whole week. Why?" He replied without looking at her.  
  
"I was worried." Max answered, her voice slightly softening. She knew he was avoiding her. Hell, he had every reason to be ever since she played the blame game on him again.  
  
He rolled his eyes and muttered, "Right."  
  
"Don't give me that crap, Alec." She hissed under her breath, refusing to draw attention to them.  
  
"What crap?" He grinned. He was baiting her emotions and it was working. And he loved it.  
  
"This crap!" She snapped as she continued to follow him again. "Alec, we have to talk so cut it."  
  
"Actually, I have to do my runs." He said as he reached the booth where Normal was handing out the packages.  
  
"Which sectors?"  
  
"Five and six. Why?"  
  
"I got sector six so I'll talk to you while we go there." She offered.  
  
Alec said nothing and just grabbed the packages and shoved them into his back pack.  
  
"Bip! Bip! Bip!" Normal's usual annoying tone rang out. "Don't just stand around here people. I didn't hire you to be here and make my life miserable by making my business a failure!" He yelled out. Someone mumbled that it already was but Normal just shot at glare at the closest people who happened to be Max.  
  
Max rolled her eyes at Normal and followed Alec. This sure was going to be tough.  
  
"So how's Logan?" Alec asked as if he gave a damn about the guy who he honestly thought was making Max's life miserable.  
  
"He's okay, I guess." She replied, not sure what to say.  
  
"Good." Alec said.  
  
Max sighed as they rode their bikes. "Alec, can we please stop this?" She asked. She could only take so much from him. It was already hard enough that she had to be the one to instigate their "talk" and he was avoiding it altogether.  
  
"Stop what?" He asked innocently.  
  
"Stop playing games." She said through gritted teeth as she gripped the handle on her bikes tightly. He was definitely pushing her buttons.  
  
"Games! I'm not playing any games. I can't say the same for you though." He said icily.  
  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Max demanded angrily, stopping her bike in the middle of the crowd.  
  
"You know damn well what it means." Alec glared at her.  
  
"Actually, I don't. I don't understand why you're so angry with me and why you've avoided me for a whole week now." She declared. Alec was really starting to irritate her. Here she was trying to make peace with him and all he was doing was making it worse.  
  
"Do not stand there and act saintly and innocent, Max. You know damn well why I'm pissed as hell at you." He hissed angrily.  
  
"Alec-"  
  
"No, you listen! I have taken a lot of crap from you, Max. I have tolerated you blaming me day in and out for every single bad shit that happens to you but DO NOT blame me for the mess that you've created because we slept together." He said as he glared at her icily. Alec knew that was going off on her and that perhaps he shouldn't be but he was so damn hurt that he just wanted to lash out at her. Make her hurt a little and maybe, just maybe, Max would understand what he was feeling. "In your mind, you're always right Max. It's alright that you use me for just cheap sex and leave it at that. You act like it means nothing. It doesn't work like that." He said growing quiet.  
  
"Bullshit! You do exactly the same thing, Alec. You screw anything with legs and breasts. And like always, it means nothing." She retorted furiously. A crowd was beginning to watch them, curious at the rather heated and controversial argument. "What's so different now?"  
  
Alec wanted to tell that it was different because it was her. She was Max and meant that sex wasn't just nothing. But instead, his ego got the better of him and he yelled, "I am not the one who claims to be in love with someone else!"  
  
"This has nothing to do with Logan." She argued.  
  
Alec groaned furiously. "Yes it does, Max. It has everything to do with Logan. You claim to love him and yet you're not faithful. Explain that to me."  
  
Her eyes softened as she tried to find and explanation. "Because with you it's different." She replied but the anger in Alec's face remained.  
  
"How?" He asked incredulously.  
  
"I don't know. It just is. It's not always nothing. It means something too. You mean something." Max explained.  
  
"I think you lie to yourself so much that you actually believe them now." He said.  
  
"I am not lying. I am trying to tell you the truth here." She protested.  
  
"No, you're not. You're trying to relieve yourself of your guilt so that if and when Logan finds out about this, you can honestly say that it was 'my' fault." He argued stubbornly. "And don't give me that speech about me meaning something to you. When it comes down to it, Logan will come first before everything. Before yourself, your friends and me."  
  
"That's not true." She said unconvincingly.  
  
"Believe what you want. Do you honestly know why I'm so angry at you?" He asked as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. She nodded. "When we slept together, you called me Logan. Me! And when you couldn't pretend anymore, you just said nothing and did not look at me."  
  
The deed was done and damage already created.  
  
She loved Logan. Plain and simple and that hurt him. She meant a lot to Alec but Logan would always come first. No one would measure up to Logan.  
  
"You couldn't touch him so I became the replacement. Each time you touched me, you were dreaming of Logan."  
  
Alec looked so hurt that Max wanted to step forward and hug him just to ease the pain even for a fraction of a second. But instead she glared back him and stood her ground. "I never did that." She said defending herself.  
  
"Forget it then. You're never going to accept the fact that you were wrong but I guess 'wrong' depends on who's judging the situation." Alec said as he suddenly looked very weary. He had enough of this. "It happened once Max. Just once but that was enough for me."  
  
"I'm-"  
  
"Don't. I really do hope that you and Logan are happy Max." He said sincerely and with that said he straddled his bike and drove away from her.  
  
Max stood in the middle of the crowd, her cheeks burning red from the slight embarrassment of making a scene and from the fact that she was holding back tears. Swallowing hard, she kept her eyes on Alec until he vanished into the crowd.  
  
"That's the problem. I don't want to be with Logan anymore." She whispered but even with Alec's enhanced hearing, he was too far gone to catch what she just said.  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: WELL THAT WAS A LOT OF PROFANITY. BUT HOPEFULLY I DID ALRIGHT ON PORTRAYING THEIR ANGER. THERE WILL BE MORE ANGST, I ASSURE YOU.  
  
SO COME ON, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.  
  
THANKS FOR READING. 


	3. Escape and Evade

A/N: THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS. WELL HERE'S ANOTHER CHAPTER. I DON'T LIKE IT VERY MUCH BUT WHATEVER. HOPE YOU LIKE IT AT LEAST.  
  
ENJOY.  
  
~*~  
  
The engine of the motorcycle hummed beneath Max, giving her a sense of comfort as she drove through Seattle's darkened streets. The air was relatively chilly, at least to Max. To the ordinaries, it was a different story.  
  
Max sighed as her gloved hands tightened around the handles of her bike. Taking a quick turn on the next exit, she recalled her argument with Alec earlier and then the one she had with OC after that.  
  
Original Cindy wasn't so keen on Max's impromptu decision to leave especially after the sudden revelation that her best friend was pregnant.  
  
But somehow, Max managed to calm OC down and actually convince her that this 'vacation' was for the best.  
  
With OC's assurance that she wouldn't tell Alec about Max's pregnancy and with the promise to return in two weeks or so, Max was now on her way to either see her sister Jace who was in Mexico or track Zane down to get reacquainted with her brother.  
  
She hadn't really decided.  
  
Max smiled at the thought of seeing her siblings again. She really missed them. They had gone through so much together and whenever Max thought of them, which was most of the time, she still gets this ache in her chest.  
  
She hoped they were safe and happy. They deserved that at least. All they have ever wanted was a little piece of happiness and some normality in their chaotic lives.  
  
Whoever she found Max was going to tell them that she was going to have a baby. A nice healthy, happy baby free from Manticore and the life they've all had as a child.  
  
And when Max returns to Seattle, she planned on telling Alec. Now, it was his turn to decide whether he wanted anything to do with the child.  
  
Max hoped that he would because no matter how she had treated Alec in the past, she was proud to have his child.  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden feeling of dread and terror that crept over her. She was being tailed. She turned her head to see who it was. Two rather conspicuous hummers were right behind her.  
  
"Shit! Shit!" Max hissed.  
  
She assumed it was White or Manticore soldiers. She spotted sector police up ahead but when she enhanced her vision she saw two more army trucks parked right in her way.  
  
Max thought of every escape tactic she could use. Escape and evade. That was what she was good at. She saw the woods and turned her bike towards that direction.  
  
She left her ninja on the side road and she began to run, zigzagging to make her tracks difficult to follow.  
  
I'm not going back. I'm not going back, Max yelled in her head as if it was a mantra.  
  
Max could hear leaves crunching underneath heavy boots as the soldiers scanned the area. Behind her, she could still see the faint glow of their flashlights.  
  
She knew that she couldn't fight them. She was outnumbered and with her condition, she couldn't take that risk.  
  
Halting, she scanned the area, hoping to find a highway nearby but there was nothing. No dim sounds of cars nearby, no engines revving.  
  
She was definitely in big trouble.  
  
Panting, she continued to run. The woods were dark but despite her heightened perception, Max felt scared.  
  
The woods had always brought bad memories to her especially after what happened with Ben.  
  
It was a bad omen.  
  
Someone fired a gun and Max crouched down, blurred to a tree, hoping to get enough coverage.  
  
She scanned the area for her attackers. There were at least a dozen X series soldiers, most of them a newer more enhanced version.  
  
She kept deathly silent and still, hoping they wouldn't spot her.  
  
"Over here, sir!" Someone yelled and without a second thought, Max started to run again.  
  
The new Xs were onto her within a few seconds, circling Max like hunters to their prey.  
  
They began to attack her and Max held her own quite well until her body began to tire. As agile and well trained Max was, the new series were better and stronger.  
  
And they had the advantage of not being pregnant.  
  
She felt one of them jab a needle on her side and Max groaned, faltering slightly. Whatever they had given Max, it was stronger than any X5 had taken before. Her legs weakened underneath her and she fell on the ground.  
  
They circled Max, looking down as she slowly fell out of consciousness. "No." She whispered weakly before everything went black.  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: THERE WILL BE AN EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THERE ARE STILL MANTICORE SOLDIERS AFTER MAX BURNED THE PLACE DOWN. THAT'LL BE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER THOUGH.  
  
I KNOW THAT THERE WASN'T ANY DIALOGUE IN THIS CHAPTER. ITS ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS I DON'T LIKE IT VERY MUCH BUT I HAD TO WRITE THIS CHAPTER THIS WAY.  
  
BUT IF YOU 'REALLY' WANT A DIALOGUE, JUST MAKE A NICE REQUEST AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO POST A DIALOGUE FILLED VERSION OF THIS CHAPTER.  
  
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK AND IF YOU GUYS REVIEW REALLY FAST, I MIGHT POST THE NEXT CHAPTER WITHIN A FEW HOURS.  
  
THANKS. 


	4. To Tell or Not to Tell

A/N: THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS. OH, IN CASE YOU GUYS DON'T KNOW, THIS WHOLE STORY TAKES PLACE AROUND WHEN AMES WHITE WAS INTRODUCED INTO DARK ANGEL BUT BEFORE FREAK NATION.  
  
~*~  
  
"Alec, where have you been?" OC demanded furiously the minute she spotted Alec walking into Jam Pony. He had been gone over a week, almost the same day as Max and it left Cindy worried because Alec hadn't told her anything and she couldn't call Max since had turned her cell phone off and OC didn't have the nerve to worry Max during her much needed 'vacation'.  
  
And Logan knew nothing of Alec's whereabouts. The man turned cold the minute OC brought up Alec.  
  
He raised his hands in front of him, as if surrendering. "Calm down, OC. I just had some stuff to deal with."  
  
"Well, you could have at least called! I was worried sick." She retorted icily as she jabbed at his arm.  
  
Alec frowned, rubbing the spot, although it barely hurt. "You mean Max was worried sick?" He drawled.  
  
Cindy folded her arms and huffed. "So, where exactly were you?" She demanded.  
  
"Had to 'acquire' this priceless artifact that had just been smuggled into the country from Egypt. Fenced it for a few mil." Alec replied proudly. "So where's her highness?" He asked as he scanned the crowd.  
  
Cindy waved her hand as if to dismiss the question, mumbled something and walked towards Normal's booth.  
  
"What was that? You just spoke gibberish." Alec said, keeping in pace with her.  
  
"She's on a vacation." She mumbled, avoiding his eyes.  
  
Alec pretended not to care. "Where to and since when did Max ever take a vacation?"  
  
Cindy shrugged offhandedly and sighed. "Can't really tell you. Max just told me that she was going to hit the road and won't be back for at least two weeks, maybe more. Depends on how she felt, I guess."  
  
"I'm assuming she's with Logan, then." Alec almost whispered.  
  
Cindy shook her head and semi-pouted. "Nope. He's still in Seattle and I'm guessing he's still stuck to his computer screen. Go ask him yourself."  
  
Alec chuckled lightly. "Did Max say why she was leaving?" Since Logan hadn't gone along with her, Alec assumed it had plenty to do with their fight but Max wasn't one to back down, much more leave because Alec told her off.  
  
"You're asking too much for some who doesn't seem to care. Looks to me like you're worried." She declared.  
  
"And you're avoiding the question." He pressed stubbornly. "You're Max's best friend. You know everything about her."  
  
Cindy sighed sharply as she placed her hands on her hips and shifted her feet. "I don't know everything."  
  
"But you do know why she left." Alec insisted and OC groaned. She knew full well that Alec was just as stubborn as Max, if not more. He would never leave her alone if he didn't get what he wanted.  
  
"Okay, okay. You people are stubborn." She grumbled. Alec grinned. "Max left because she needed time away from Seattle. She needed to think." OC declared reluctantly. She hoped Alec wouldn't demand for more answers because she knew that she might yell at him for getting Max pregnant and scaring the living daylights out of her friend.  
  
And she didn't want to break her promise to Max. It wasn't Cindy's place to tell Alec that he was going to be a father and she knew that anything could happen to Max out there to cause her to lose the baby.  
  
Alec watched her suspiciously and although, he wasn't thoroughly convinced, her dropped the subject. "Let's go to Crash tonight." He suggested and OC beamed.  
  
"Sure thing." She said.  
  
***  
  
Two weeks later  
  
Alec paced across Cindy and Max's apartment. He looked worried and angry at the same time.  
  
"Stop pacing. You're making me nervous." OC said through gritted teeth as she sat on the arm of the couch.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked coldly.  
  
OC creased her forehead into a frown. "Tell you what exactly?" She drawled.  
  
"That she hasn't called for almost a month." Alec said, his hazel eyes meeting hers with scrutiny.  
  
"Do not look at me like this is my fault, Alec." OC retorted. "She's on vacation and she's on the road. It's not like there's a telephone pole on every corner of the street."  
  
Alec sighed and ran his fingers through her hair. "She could be in big trouble."  
  
"I know that."  
  
"Then why aren't you worried?" He demanded.  
  
OC frowned deepened. "Just because I don't pace until I make a hole in the floor does not mean I'm worried. She's my best friend, Alec. Of course I worried."  
  
"Sorry." He sighed. "I didn't mean to bark at you."  
  
"Well, you did but Max could walk in any minute or any day now so don't worry so much." Even when OC said it, she couldn't make herself believe half of the words. She had this horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that wouldn't go away.  
  
She prayed she was wrong.  
  
"I'm going to call Logan." Alec declared as he reached for his cell phone and as if on cue, it rang. Within the past twenty forty eight hours, Alec and Logan had to bite their tongue or at least pretend not to be in the same room as each other while they worked to find Max. OC on a few occasions had to play referee to end their bickering. "Did you find anything?"  
  
"There were a few army trucks in Seattle around the time Max left. They had a cargo but it wasn't her." Logan replied on the other end. "She could be on her way here. Have you tried calling her cell phone again?"  
  
Alec sighed. "Yes, fifty seven times since I last counted. It's still turned off."  
  
"We should start searching then. Maybe we could still track her down." Logan suggested; his voice just as strained as Alec's.  
  
Alec frowned but nodded his head while OC pressed her ear on the other side to hear. "Yeah." Alec replied.  
  
"Good. Call me in a few hours so we can set up the locations on where you should look." Logan replied and Alec could hear the keys of the keyboard clicking on Logan's end of the line.  
  
"I'll stop by. You can give me everything I need." Alec hung up and OC tapped her foot as she impatiently waited for him to explain.  
  
"So."  
  
Alec shoved his phone back into his pocket. "I'm going to look for Max. If you know anything, tell me now."  
  
OC watched him hesitantly but shook her head, praying that Max was alright. "No."  
  
"No you don't know or no you won't tell me?" He asked sounding slightly annoyed.  
  
OC glared at him, wishing that she could tell him. It would make everything else so much easier. "I don't know anything." She declared firmly.  
  
"Ok. I'll be back in a few days." He said as he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.  
  
"Just make sure to come back." She called after him.  
  
"I will and look after Josh for me, okay?" Alec said, forcing a smile. OC nodded.  
  
"Be careful." OC whispered with a sigh as the door closed behind Alec.  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE ABOUT WHERE MAX IS AND WHO HAS HER. WELL, WE ALL KNOW ITS MANTICORE BUT ANYWAY, I KNOW THAT THERE ISN'T REALLY MUCH IN THIS CHAPTER.  
  
OH, AND JUMOKE, EMAIL ME IF YOU STILL WANT THE DIALOGUED VERSION OF THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER.  
  
THANKS FOR READING AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW. 


	5. Without A Trace

A/N: THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS. I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT THIS STORY. I'M WORKING ON FOUR OTHER STORIES WRITE NOW. IT'S KIND OF CRAZY, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT I'M GOING TO TRY TO WRITE A SEQUEL FOR ONE OF MY OTHER FICS ON FFNET.  
  
ANYWAY, HOPE YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER.  
  
ENJOY.  
  
~*~  
  
Max forced her heavy eyes to open. Everything was fuzzy. The room was spinning and she wanted to vomit. She moved her hand to touch her aching head but found that she was restrained to the bed.  
  
"Great." She mumbled in frustration. Max yanked it harder but her arms felt heavy and her strength had abandoned her.  
  
"Calm down." A familiar voice spoke out in the distance and Max focused to try to focus on the figure nearby.  
  
She looked shocked to see her sister, leaning against the doorframe. "Brin." Her voice was raspy. "How long was I here?"  
  
"Over a week." Brin explained. "You've been unconscious because of the medication."  
  
Max looked horrified as she struggled to free herself from the restraints. "They pumped me with drugs?" She asked angrily.  
  
Brin nodded unfeelingly. "It's for the baby. To make it healthier."  
  
"Oh God." She gasped. "Brin, you have to untie me."  
  
The other girl shook her head. "That's against orders. Lay perfectly still or you'll hurt the baby." Brin declared as she pointedly glanced at Max's stomach.  
  
"They're hurting us already! Brin, untie me." She pleaded but Brin made no indication to do so.  
  
"This is for your own good."  
  
Max struggled against the restraints. "The hell it is!" She screamed.  
  
Brin sighed and a doctor in a white lab coat appeared behind her. Brin gave a nod and the frighteningly, creepy man walked over to Max; a syringe between his fingers.  
  
"Don't struggle. This will help." The doctor said as he inched the syringe to Max's arm.  
  
"Get the fuck away from me or I will kill you!" She screamed.  
  
The man looked unimpressed and he jabbed the needle into her arm. Max's struggle began to listen as he body relaxed under the drug.  
  
The man's image began to dim as Max desperately tried to stay awake.  
  
In the distance she heard Brin's voice. "Welcome home, soldier."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Alec leaned his body against the wall as he folded his arms in front of his chest. His body craved sleep which he greatly lacked for almost a week now.  
  
He looked furious.  
  
"There's nothing." His voice was tired and tense. He had just returned from trying to find a trail that could lead him to Max.  
  
Logan, who was still in his wheelchair, sighed sharply. "I know but we'll find her. We will and if not, Max will find a way to contact us." He declared although not sounding thoroughly convincing.  
  
Cindy, who was perched on the arm of the two-seater in Logan's living room, frowned as she impatiently tapped her fingers. "You have to find her." She said desperately.  
  
Alec shot her an annoyed look. "That's what we've been trying to do for weeks now." He said rigidly.  
  
Cindy turned her eyes on him, wishing that she could tell him the truth. But she knew she couldn't do it to Alec. It would drive him crazy to know that Max was out there, untraceable and possibly in great danger, carrying his unborn child.  
  
"What did Asha find?" She asked. Logan had recruited the blonde girl to help in their search for Max.  
  
Logan cleared his throat uncomfortably. "She had a couple of her men track down trucks carrying cargo outside of Seattle. There was nothing. Asha hasn't heard any rumor about any military operation in the vicinity."  
  
"Did you check cargo ships?" Alec asked.  
  
Logan nodded tiredly. "I checked carrier planes, cargo ships, fishing boats, everything. There was nothing unusual about the activity except the normal illegal smuggling of rare artifacts going on. I even hacked into the FBI database but nothing. It's like she vanished into thin air."  
  
"Max can't just vanish. She has to have left a trail. We're going to find her." Alec declared in determination.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
A cold hand touched her cheek and Max jerked, bringing her out of her fitful sleep. She blinked her eyes and focused them on the figure looming over her.  
  
Renfro.  
  
The blonde woman was looking like Max was an animal displayed in a zoo.  
  
"Hello, 452." Renfro greeted; her voice eerily cheerful.  
  
"Bitch." Max hissed weakly.  
  
Renfro's heels clicked against the tile floor are she circled Max. "There's no need for attitude, 452. We can be great friends." She sounded amused.  
  
"Go to hell."  
  
The woman snickered. "This is hell, 452. Your hell and I rule it." She whispered against Max's ear.  
  
"When I get out, I'll kill you."  
  
Renfro looked unimpressed. "I have great plans for you." She said. "I was going to either re-indoctrinate you back to Manticore and if you didn't comply, I planned to sell parts of you to the highest bidder."  
  
"You'll pay. I swear to you, I will not die until I see you suffer by my hands."  
  
She smirked. "Your threats are petty, 452, but you're right. You're not going to die. You're too useful for the survival of Manticore. My survival. You and your hell spawn, if this pregnancy comes to term, will have a great role in my plan."  
  
"Touch my child and I'll-"  
  
"You'll what? Glare at me to death? Threaten me? There's nothing you can do, 452. You have no power."  
  
Max glared at Renfro, imagining the fifteen different ways of killing her slowly and painfully with only the use of her index and middle finger.  
  
"We'll see about that." She hissed.  
  
~*~  
  
A/N: SORRY IF THAT WAS SHORT AND UNEVENTFUL. IT WILL GET SOMEWHERE, I PROMISE. I'D MAKE THIS NOTE LONGER BUT I'M SUPER TIRED. I HAVE DEPRIVED MYSELF OF SLEEP.  
  
THANKS FOR READING.  
  
DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW. 


	6. Lineage

A/N:  I FINALLY UPDATED.  YAY.  I'VE BEEN DISTRACTED WITH OTHER PROJECTS AND UNFORTUNATELY IGNORED THIS ONE.  WELL, HERE IT IS.  NOT THAT DIFFERENT FROM THE ORIGINAL THOUGH.  THE ITALICS ARE THOUGHTS, BTW.  ENJOY.

~*~

Max forced her eyes open and stared at the bleak ceiling overhead.  She had long established that she was in Manticore.  But it didn't make sense.  She had brought down Manticore and let all the transgenics escape.  Refro was supposed to be long dead and White was her new found enemy.  She tried to process the information in her mind like Lydecker had taught them many years ago.  _It's a puzzle,_ he once said.  All she had to do was put everything in their rightful place and she would see the big picture.  But even with her enhanced mental capabilities, nothing added up to Max.  

She sat up on the bed with a heavy sigh, leaning her back against the cold white wall.  Max folded her legs underneath her, knowing that there was no point in bringing them up because her jutting stomach would just get in the way.  She put her hand over it and sighed.  This was not how she pictured being pregnant, not that she envisioned playing mommy a lot.  Despite her desire for a normal life, Max didn't think much about having children.  Zack's warning words and Tinga's painful experience had left a mark on her.  

She wondered how far along she was.  Everything was still hazy.  She had missed a lot of days, weeks even.  Brin had explained it was the drugs.  It kept the baby healthy but it put Max to sleep.  Max guessed she was at least seven months pregnant.

_How time flies, _she thought bitterly, feeling guilty she that hadn't even made an attempt to escape.     
  
"We'll be alright." Max whispered looking down at her stomach as if the baby could understand her. Perhaps it did.  Her words brought Alec to mind. He was always alright. He had told her. Max's mind drifted back to him, to their friends, to the life she had. "You better be looking for me Alec or I'll kick your pretty little ass when I get out of this hell hole." She mumbled and when she realized what she had said Max chuckled a little. 

She wondered if he was worried about her or if he even noticed that she was gone. In her mind, Max begged that he cared. She had hurt him but she wanted him to care. He was Alec and whether she admitted it or not, he was family. And he was closest to her ever since Manticore went down despite their differences.  
  
"I hurt him a lot you know." Max whispered. "I hurt your daddy a lot. But I promise you baby, he loves you." She continued. It was incredibly uncharacteristic of her to talk to her stomach. If Renfro knew this she'd be sent straight to Psy-Ops. Max was willing to take her chances. "I'm going to make it up to him." She smiled wryly. "You're going to be one hell of a looker." Max thought proudly. Manticore sure knew how to make them pretty. With Alec's good looks and her perfect DNA this kid was going to be beautiful. Her and Alec's baby was going to be beautiful. Max was so proud. Despite where she was now she was proud of this kid. She would hold on to that.  
  
Her door opened and Brin walked in, with her shiny black hair tied in her trademark ponytail, swinging right behind her. "Hey." Max said softly. Brin gave her sister a tight smile and sat down next to her on the bed. "The baby is fine." Max said. Brin was here for a progress report.  
  
This has been their routine ever since Max's body slowly adapted to the drugs for the baby and she was able to stay awake at certain times while on the medication. Brin would come in and talk to her. Max knew that this was Renfro's doing. Brin was sent as a spy to retrieve information about the other 09 escapees and their location. She wasn't here on a sisterly visit. This was a tactic. Renfro couldn't take Max to Psy-Ops just yet because it might do damage to the baby. 

But once the baby is born, the pleasantries would be over.  She could only imagine what they would do to her.  She was running out of time.  
  
Max didn't care though. Having Brin around was better than talking to no one and almost going insane. Max wasn't going to tell them anything. She would talk to Brin but Max wasn't going to mention anything that would compromise the people she cared about. The truth was that she didn't really know a lot. She knew where Zack and Jace were. Alec was in Seattle. Case was in Canada with Charlie. The locations of the rest of them were all suspicions. Zack didn't really trust her to tell her anything.

She couldn't really blame him.  It was his nature.  
  
By talking to Brin, Max has come to find out that she was held in a second Manticore facility. Where this was, she didn't know. They were somewhere in the forest because all Max can see outside her window are trees. "I thought I brought Manticore down for good." She whispered to Brin sadly.  
  
"Manticore is strong. It can never be taken down." Brin explained in her usual quiet voice.  She was proud and if Manticore hadn't brought them so much pain, then maybe Max would be proud too.  But she wasn't.    
  
That was what Max was afraid of. If they had another facility, then there would be more. "So, what do the doctors say about my baby?" Max inquired standing up to stretch her legs.  The baby was kicking again.  
  
"It's a healthy baby. It'll make a perfect soldier." Brin smiled.  
  
Max cringed at the thought. She didn't like it. She didn't want her child to be a soldier. _I want this child to have what I couldn't. _"Why is it so important?" Max continued.  
  
"Because its parents are both X5s." Brin replied.  
  
"I never told you that the father of this baby was an X5." Max stated but with Manticore's technology it wasn't surprising that they knew.  
  
"We already know. The genetic make up of the baby shows no 'normal' human DNA.  It's not tainted." Brin replied. "It's _perfect_."  
  
"Perfect?" Max echoed curiously. She was dreading what Brin had to tell her.  
  
"Unlike X5-656's son." Brin answered.  
  
Max sighed. "Tinga's boy." Max whispered. She remembered. Case was sick. There was something wrong with his genetic make up. Something in human DNA wasn't compatible with an X5's.  
  
Brin stood up to leave. The visit was over. The door opened and Max was left to her thoughts again. This child was perfection. What Manticore had always wanted but never achieved. It was the most important one of all.  
  
Max looked around her frantically and tried to come up with a plan. She needed to get out of here.

~*~


End file.
